the visual art and architecture of native Oceania, including media such as sculpture, pottery, rock art, basketry, masks, painting, and personal decoration. In these cultures, art and architecture have often been closely connected—for example, storehouses and meetinghouses are often decorated with elaborate carvings—and so they are presented together in this discussion. For more general explorations of media, see individual media articles (e.g., painting, sculpture, pottery, and textile). For a discussion of the characteristics, functions, and forms of masks, see mask. General characteristics Materials and techniques Until the 16th and 17th centuries, when European cultures appeared upon the scene, Oceanian cultures maintained various forms of Neolithic technology. The only exception was in the northwest of New Guinea, where the people living around Geelvink Bay (Teluk Cenderawasih) imported very small quantities of metal from the Indonesians of the Moluccas (Maluku). The technique of...